


Leader's Birthday

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 03:43:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15788244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Loretta celebrates her birthday with a new tradition.





	Leader's Birthday

There were only a few days of the year when Moorland Stables was decked out in pink- when it was the Bobcatz anniversary, and when it was Loretta's birthday. Today, to the dismay of all of the newbie riders in Moorland, was the latter.

Loretta strode out of the Moorland inn, projecting that same aura of confidence and smug arrogance that had always been around her since she'd first arrived here at Moorland Stables. It was as though she hadn't disappeared for two weeks. She strode over to the stables, where her horse, Bartok, had already been gotten ready by the ever-loyal Tan. Even his hooves were shiny, clearly having been freshly polished.

"Hi, Loretta," said Maya, looking over from where she was refilling a feeder. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you, Maya," said Loretta, giving the stable girl a grateful dip of her head as she began to lead Bartok out of the stable. "Remember the party this afternoon."

"How could I forget?" said Maya with a laugh. "That's why I'm hard at work doing this right now, so I have time this afternoon."

"Just don't forget to shower," said Loretta. "And change your clothes, you stuck out like a sore toe at Tan's birthday party."

"Sure," said Maya, nodding. "And sorry about that."

"It doesn't matter, just as long as you don't do it again," said Loretta, brushing her off. Finally, she swung herself up into the saddle, admiring how Moorland looked from horseback. Truly, she lived in one of the most beautiful places in Jorvik, where one could easily go to the beach (the Dark Core landing site and the fisherman did, unfortunately, take up half of the beach but there was still beach behind the pole-bending course) or just as easily go on a short ride to Silverglade Village, Fort Pinta (where there was a bus stop to take them to Jorvik City), and, of course, the ever-popular Circus of Dreams. So many of the Bobcatz had swooned upon first seeing that handsome man who ran things up there, but not Loretta. She had eyes only for Justin. Oh yes, and Moorland had Justin too of course, how could she forget?

Loretta closed her eyes and hummed to herself as she rode around Moorland, Bartok knowing exactly which trails to take from many previous trail rides here with the Bobcatz. The scent of baking reached her nose, and Loretta smiled and opened her eyes, turning Bartok to head over to Mrs Holdsworth's.

"Good morning, Mrs Holdsworth!" Loretta called, lifting her hand to wave to the old lady. She was feeling unusually nice today, possibly because it was her birthday. Everyone knew to be nice on or around birthdays, it was the best way to ensure that many gifts were received on the day.

"Young Loretta," said Mrs Holdsworth, lifting her head from where she'd been tending to her dandelion patch. "You look very happy today."

"Of course I am," said Loretta, grinning. "Not only is it my birthday, but Justin is actually here for it this year. Maybe I'll finally receive that birthday kiss." She gave a happy sigh, her eyes shining.

"You never know," said Mrs Holdsworth. "Happy birthday, my dear. Your cake is in the oven."

"Thank you," said Loretta, giving the old lady a grateful smile. "It smells divine." Mrs Holdsworth gave her a smile, and Loretta turned and rode back off towards the Bobcatz' usual hang out spot. Perhaps she was hunting for early presents, perhaps she was simply hunting for attention. It wasn't childish at all to do that on your birthday.

Even from a distance, it was easy to see the pink ribbons and bunting decorating the paddock that Loretta had claimed as her own. She couldn't help but smile as she approached it, seeing a few banners declaring "Happy birthday Loretta!" Her club sure knew how to make her feel loved.

"Hi, Loretta, happy birthday," said Sophie.

"Thank you," said Loretta, smiling at the girl who stood by her race's starting line. The other Bobcatz echoed Sophie's birthday wishes, a few even commenting on her age. She was 19 now, almost the same age as Justin. She didn't feel old, though, she still felt young and cool.

"Hi, Loretta," said Tan when Loretta finally reached her paddock. Loretta couldn't help but notice that Tan was trying to hide something behind her back.

"Hi, Tan," said Loretta, grinning at her best friend. "Is the party all planned?"

"Of course," said Tan. "Duh. But you're here early."

"Tan, if you're going to work on a last-minute gift, at least do it in your room, silly," Loretta teased. Tan blushed.

"It's finished, anyway," said Tan. She removed her hands from behind her back, holding out a beautifully-wrapped gift. Both paper and ribbon were pink, with Loretta's name scrawled on a tag in glittery pink gel pen.

"Oh, Tan," Loretta cooed, dismounting Bartok and coming over to stand in front of Tan. She took the gift, which felt like wrapped clothing (she knew the feeling from every single gift she'd ever received from her grandparents), and wrapped her arms around her best friend in a grateful hug. "Thank you."

"You haven't opened it yet," said Tan, her cheeks still as pink as her jacket. Maybe even moreso now, after the hug. Loretta wondered why, but she chose to ignore it for now, instead beginning to unwrap the gift.

"Oh my gosh," said Loretta, her eyes wide. Inside was a t-shirt, which Loretta rarely wore (it was important to always be in uniform, after all, and spread the good word about the Bobcatz), but the stitching on it was immaculate. On the back of it was Loretta's name, the Bobcatz logo beneath her name, and 'leader' in block letters beneath the logo. On the front of the shirt over the breast pocket was a tiny Bobcatz logo and Loretta's name in fancy print. And, best of all, the whole thing was pink. She looked up at Tan, who looked nervous, and then surprised her with another tight hug.

"Do you really like it?" asked Tan when Loretta pulled away to stare at the shirt again.

"Of course I do, Tan! This is amazing!" said Loretta, beaming. "Thank you so much, it looks totes cool. This can be, like, our summer uniform."

"Really?" asked Tan, grinning. Loretta nodded.

"Yeah! It's way better than Stephanie's stupid tank tops idea," said Loretta. "Ugh, as if we'd wear tank tops, they're like, so 90s."

"Totally," said Tan, nodding.

"Hey, hey, hey, birthday girl," said Stephanie, striding over to the pair. Loretta hoped that Stephanie hadn't overheard her complaints and was here to complain. Yawn.

"Hey, Steph," said Loretta, giving her best fake smile. Stephanie had been on pretty thin ice lately, especially after she'd tried to change the Bobcatz' club anthem to "Hey Yo".

"Now, I dunno much about sushi, but is it a good breakfast food?" asked Stephanie. "Just 'cos I've heard of this really neat sushi place that just opened up in Jorvik City. I was going to suggest we go there for lunch for your birthday but I'm not allowed to make any group outing suggestions until next month."

"Well, Steph, that's just what happens when you suggest going to see Raptor for five club meetings in a row," said Tan. "You were warned."

"Whatever," said Stephanie, shrugging.

"Sushi sounds good," said Loretta. She did not want any fights on her birthday, and she could never resist sushi. "We should totally go. But not for breakfast, Justin is making me pancakes." She felt like swooning all over again at the thought, having seen Justin in the kitchen making pancakes while she'd stopped by the coffee pot to have her morning brew. She needed a lot of coffee to get through the day without snapping at someone, especially since Mr Moorland had asked her to be nicer to the newbies. It wasn’t Stablebuck’s but, meh, what could she do?

"Ooh, Justin," Stephanie cooed. Tan rolled her eyes, as she always did when Justin was mentioned, and Loretta blushed and giggled.

Though Justin's gesture of cooking breakfast had been nice, it did take a while for him to emerge from the stableyard and declare that breakfast was done. The girls all rushed inside, Loretta fighting to be first, and then sat down to the large pancake breakfast. Loretta got the biggest stack, of course, and left a kiss on Justin's cheek as thanks for cooking for her. Justin blushed and murmured something about it being no problem before he finally served himself with the meagre leftovers. Pancakes may not be as good as sushi in Loretta's book, but they were still pretty darn good.

The morning passed as normal- Loretta instructed some newbies on how to ride (at least most of them knew which end of the horse was which, though there were some that made Loretta wonder about their IQ), Tan and Sophie took charge of their races, and Justin was back to picking the perfect horse for each and every rider who passed through Moorland Stables. Loretta still remembered that wonderful day when Justin had paired her up with Bartok, the fanciest-looking horse in the stables. He was no Friesian, nor was he a Lusitano or a Lipizzaner like Hieronymo, but he was still a majestic, beautiful horse. Especially with Loretta riding him. Loretta looked forward to lunch, like she did every day, but today it was for a different reason- after lunch, she and the rest of the Bobcatz would be relieved of their duties so that they could party, and a group of helpers from all around Jorvik were going to be coming in to cover for them. According to Thomas and Jenna, the group had volunteered to help, having nothing better to do and genuinely looking forward to helping the newbies. Privately, Loretta thought they were crazy.

But, as Loretta rode past the group, she couldn't help but give them a smile and wave. They were, after all, the reason that she was able to have such a nice afternoon off for her party. It was a motley assortment of guys and girls, some of whom Loretta recognised from that stuff with Justin and the druids, but they all seemed more than capable. Even more bizarre, some seemed to genuinely care about the newbie riders. Weirdos. But whatever, they were doing a good job. Maybe they'd even offer to help out more often, so that Loretta and her club could organise some club days when they could go out on trail rides or just to the mall. That would be wonderful.

Just as Stephanie had said, there was a new sushi place that had just opened up in Jorvik City. Loretta's mouth watered at the delightful array of sushi on display, rolls and maki and even a little station where people could make their own sushi. Loretta ordered a platter, though, loudly announcing that it was her birthday in the hope that it would result in some kind of a discount. Instead, the staff just sang to her, making her want to sink into the ground. Oh well. It had been worth a shot.

Besides, the sushi was divine. Loretta had never tasted anything so good, certainly not in Jorvik, anyway.

"One of you girls needs to learn how to make sushi," Loretta announced to the group that shared her booth. Tan was squashed up beside her, looking very comfortable. But who wouldn't be comfortable in Loretta's presence, really?

"We should go to some classes," said Katie.

"Ooh, yeah, that'd be awesome," said Maya. Just like she'd promised Loretta, Maya had dressed nicer, even showering so that she smelled nice. She wasn't wearing the Bobcatz uniform, but jeans and a t-shirt were by far better than the overalls that she usually wore.

"I can ask around," said Mandy. Julie's sister had come along too, in part because she was staying in an apartment in Jorvik City with her dad.

"That's a great idea," said Loretta. "You live here, you must know all sorts of things about this place."

"Well, I only just moved here," said Mandy, blushing.

"I'll come and help out," said Julie. "I can always get someone to take over my chores."

"Lucky you," said Loretta with a laugh. She took another bite of sushi. "Mmm, this is so good. We're going to make a Bobcatz Sushi Day here. We can reserve a table and stuff, it'll be great."

"Just let me know when," said Mandy, glad to be a part of this group (even if, as a Jorvik City resident, she couldn't be an official member full-time).

"Sushi Saturday?" Tan suggested.

"Yes," said Loretta, snapping her fingers. "Sushi Saturday. Done. It's a thing, starting next month."

"Cool," said Tan.

"That and my birthday," said Loretta, looking very smug. "The people who run this place are going to get to know us very well in the future."

"Well, you in particular," said Maya. She looked a little nervous, but then Loretta laughed. She wasn't ashamed about her sushi obsession- everyone who knew her knew that she was an absolute sushi fiend. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Well, unless Justin came along, but he didn't like sushi for some reason. He actually didn't like going to the beach anymore either. Weird. But, like everything else, Loretta decided to just ignore it. It couldn't be important. Justin was home and safe and with her now, and that was all that mattered.


End file.
